I can't really call this a tutorial as the original idea was not my own. But I'm here to offer a few tips on how I did my own, as well as link to the original inspiration.

It all started when I saw this floating around facebook:

Someone mentioned it was done with cake pops and I thought, "Hey! I could do that I bet!"

When I got more serious about making my cake I found this tutorial from Once Upon a Pedestal to be very helpful picture wise.

I was never really on the cake pop bandwagon. I mean, don't get me
wrong, they are adorable! But they were also so much work for something
that I didn't think was that tasty, but rather a lump of sugar. So I was
a bit behind the times and hadn't seen the pans for making them without
icing mixed in.

The "As Seen on TV" pan is supposedly decent, but I wanted my pops to be a bit smaller so I could fit more than one layer of them into my cake layers. I also wanted a pan that was a little more affordable, and one that didn't need clamps to hold it closed. The answer for me was a smaller Nordic Ware pan. In retrospect, I would definitely buy two of them however, because waiting for each batch to bake when I made so many took an hour or more.

Once I had my cake pop pan in hand, I realized that none of the cake pans I owned were going to be deep enough for what I wanted to do. Way to think ahead, I know. So with some quick research I came upon the Fat Daddio brand. Let me just say, amazing! I chose to go with 8 x 4 inch pans.

Now for those promised tips...

You could make your own cake for this, but I opted to go store bought since I was already putting a lot of time into the prep work and making. It took four white cake mixes and a whole lot of egg whites! I went with pillsbury's super moist because it was both cheap and dense.

I did not find that I needed to do anything fancy with pudding mix in the cake or anything like that as some people have done when making these. I simply beat the mix by hand (no electric mixer or kitchen aid) and it was very dense and moist.

I'd never really baked with deep pans before, so that was the toughest thing for me to master and figure out.
For my 8 x 4's I set the oven to 275°F and both the test cake and final product baked for about an hour and forty five minutes. Depending on your oven and your pan size you may want to adjust the time, but the nice low baking temp will keep the cakes from drying out.

Some tutorials suggest using cake towels around the sides and other such things. Again, I didn't bother with that and turned out just fine!

I used two of the cake mixes on the pops alone. Just to make enough balls to really fill up the cake pans with lots of layers. Because of this each pan then took an entire additional cake mix to be sure there was enough batter to cover the balls. I only put a thin layer in the pan to begin with to start setting them on then let the rest trickle between them all.

These cakes turned out so heavy that they flattened themselves out on the cooling racks and I didn't even need to use my wire to smooth them.

Oh, one last tip! Invest in Pam baking spray, the one with the flour. I had to wipe out my cake pop pan and respray before each batch. It's easy for the little buggers to want to stick.

If you want your cake to look super smooth you can use fondant, but honestly I cannot stand the taste of it. And taste was more important than appearance (at least on the outside) to me. So I used a basic cream cheese frosting. The polka dots were simply Wilton Candy Melts that I turned "bottoms out" and pressed into the frosting. Wilton also makes some really big confetti pieces that would be cute.

I also saved the trimmings from smoothing out the cake balls and keep
them frozen, and they work really great for homemade "funfetti" inside a
white mix!

The best thing about cakes like this, at least to me, is people's reactions. They don't expect things on the inside. So have fun with it! I want to try making dots of different flavors sometime myself .

I don't talk to you as much as I should, but I think about you an awful lot. I wish you were here to meet your newest great grandson. To play the same games with him that you had with me. To tell him stories, and tickle him with your beard. Maybe he'd be another Pipip for you, he is likely to be as stubborn as I am after all. And he'd grow up knowing that the smell of love is sometimes a mix of peppermint, sawdust and diesel.

We had the hardest time naming him. There were names I was attached to since I was young, that my husband absolutely hated. And most of the names he came up with, I didn't feel much better about. Those we did agree on weren't terrible, but they were just lacking something. And then one moment it just hit me, what his name had to be, even if Jonathan was reluctant.

He is Milo.

It's a good name, I think you'd agree. I can't picture him with any other.

He may not get to meet the man he was named after, but he will know you. I'll be sure of that, and his grandparents will be sure of it, his Aunties and Uncles. We all carry different pieces of you.

And if I am terribly lucky he will be another piece and inherit your intelligence, your kindness, your silly humor, and your gentle caring nature.

Thank you for everything you taught me and everything you are going to teach my son.

Back in the day I took a poetry class, since I love writing the stuff. It opened me up to some forms I'd never heard of, one of the most interesting being Verse Play. When creating a verse play piece you simply choose two things: people, characters, inanimate objects. Then you hold a conversation between them. There are a few that I was rather proud of and some I thought I'd lost. This is one I was awfully sad that I lost, but just stumbled upon again.

I'm not sure where in my head some of these things come from, honestly. I can tell you this one in part comes from an interest in psychology I've harbored. At the same time I've held very little respect for certain figures. No offense to the Freudians out there, but he's just not my cup of tea!

Anyway, I'm beginning to ramble...here you have Tickle Me Elmo and Hitler.

Tickle Me Elmo and Hitler sit at a bar…Hitler depressed he has
lost his conquest, Elmo boozing up (how do you think he stays so
happy all the time?)…suddenly Elmo laughs, Hitler feels insulted …

Freud:
Now Hitler, what have I told you? This does not help you get past the
emotional fear of castration you have. We must blame your mother and
six year old girls for all your problems and this tiny red symbol of
safety can not help you.

Simple and comforting, like wrapping up in a big blanket on a chilly Sunday morning. That's how I feel about fresh rice pudding, especially still warm from the oven. Store bought varieties cannot compare, but worry not, it's nearly fail proof to make yourself.

Now, this is going to sound kind of strange. But fill the rest of the dish with water up to about 1 to 1/2 inch from the top.

Mix again and pop that sucker in the oven at 350°F.

After about 1 hour your pudding should form its first skin. You're going to mix this into the pudding and let it keep baking.

After about 30 minutes your pudding will have been productive and made its second skin. You're going to laugh at its attempts and stir this in as well.

After another 15 - 30 minutes you'll check your pudding for a last time. It should have formed its third skin. This one you're going to leave in place.

Remove the pudding from the oven and let it cool, then proceed to shovel into your feed-hole.

Ta-da!

Just like great grandmother used to make! Enjoy!

A minor edit because I forgot to mention! My hubby likes to sprinkle nutmeg over the top of his serving sometimes. Other people like to bake raisins into it, but I personally cannot get behind the use of humiliated grapes.

Sometimes it's funny. How even someone that considers themselves a writer, a poet, an open and sharing spirit...can find themselves at a loss for words. And at times, my words are a crutch. It's easier to sit and think out what I want to say than to find the voice and courage to speak the words to someone's face. My voice can stammer and stumble, my resolve can falter. But my fingers rarely do, even when they have difficulty finding the right things to set down.

I have spent years, finding numerous ways to attempt to define or express just who I am. And no matter how close I come to doing so, I can't help but think I have failed. There is always something held back, cowering inside. That little bit of self that worries about judgment and acceptance. No matter how confident I become. No matter the armor I build up. I feel like I'm an odd mix of personalities. Logic sits upon one shoulder and emotion on the other and they often debate amongst each other leaving me lost in the middle. Logic will tell me that I don't' need the acceptance of the entire world, that I should be proud of who I am. Emotion leers at him and reminds me how difficult the world can be when everyone is looking down at you. So I remain, all at once, shameless and shamed.

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Eleanor Roosevelt said that, and boy do I love throwing that quote at people. And yet I play the hypocrite, empowering the small minded. Perhaps, because until recently I have not accepted myself. How then, could I have expected others to? I've fought my own multitude of inner demons for years. And I've finally come to a point in my life that I am no longer in denial. No longer self loathing. The past two years are the first I have felt as though I can accept myself.

See, the thing is I'm not straight. And some people would say I'm not gay (that's another discussion). Which leaves me in some form of middle ground. A place often frowned on by both sides of the spectrum. My heart speeds up and my fingers shake even typing the words now. And logic sits on my shoulder again telling me I may not even have the courage to share what I write now. But, at least it's cathartic. And I'll say it for myself. I'm bisexual.

I ignored it for years, denial is an eager friend when you seek him out. Looking back now I really have to laugh at all the obvious indicators to myself. Things easily dismissed. After all, they say all young people explore all sides of their sexuality at some point in their childhood. But I digress...

My sexuality hit me like a brick to the face some years ago when I realized I had romantic feelings for a female friend. I tried to explain it in all manner of ways, like just "really close friendship". Even when I was with her, I refused to label myself. I told myself, “Oh I'm not bisexual. I don't find every woman attractive, just this one.” Like I find every man attractive, right? Real smooth. It ended badly and because of that I pushed things back into the closet again.

My life eventually provided more handy excuses. "I can't come out, people will question my marriage." One of my biggest fears is that what I am will reflect poorly on my husband. I mean, let's face it, people almost always jump to the worst conclusions. "She must be running around on her husband." "She must be a whore if she likes both genders." But I adore my husband. He's supported me when I didn't even support myself. He accepts me. He is my rock, and I respect and love him immensely.The other side of that coin is, "Well you married a boy, so you aren't gay." "You chose the right team in the end anyway!"

I feel as though I'm rambling, or my thoughts are scattered. Trying to get it all lain out like this, but I need to do it. For myself.

Another thing that's held me back is my faith. I believe in God with all my heart. But I was always taught that alternative sexualities were a sin. A large part of why, for years, I struggled. I couldn't overcome the immense guilt, even when I loved someone. I've come to the point however, that I'm able to say, I don't know if I am right or wrong. But, the Bible says the most important thing in the world is Love right? So how then, can love be wrong? I believe wholeheartedly that, each of us can only live to the best of what we believe is right. And if I am wrong, God will judge me. It's no one else's job. Nor is it mine to judge anyone else on their lifestyle. I have friends from a wide array of walks of life, and each of them is beautiful. None of us should have to hide. I am tired of some of my best friends with the most gorgeous hearts having to hide who or what they feel they are for fear of not just judgement, but because they live in a super conservative area...even death. Is that really what faith should be spreading...guilt, fear, hate, loathing and intolerance? “Your morals aren’t as upstanding as mine.” “I’m right you’re wrong.”

And to those people that say anyone chooses to have a nontraditional sexuality? I can't force you to believe otherwise, I simply can't. But think about it, please... Who would choose to be looked down upon, hated by strangers, friends and even family? Who really wants to have less rights than the general populace? Who wants to be bullied? If God is as petty as the masses and will forgive a murderer for his actions, but chooses to burn me for having a fondness for breasts, well so be it I suppose. I've come to the point in my life where I can accept that as well.

I know many people will disagree with me. I'm fairly sure some of my own family will be among them. I know they'll always love me no matter what, but I don't expect them to always agree with me. I'm sorry I couldn't tell more of you personally, and part of me feels cowardly for doing it like this.

But I'm not a coward. I know that now as well. Everyone comes to terms with themselves in a different way, at a different time. This is my time, and it's been long coming. I will be proud of who I am, and I will love myself.

And if I have the courage to share this I'd like to say to those that take the time to read it, thank you. Whether you are supportive or not, you empower me.

For me, I think a great deal of it is....admittance. To yourself more than anyone else, that it's ok. And maybe if you can accept yourself, you can show others...that it's alright to be yourself. To not have to hide who you feel you are. Keeping something hidden eats away at too many of us when it’s an integral part of who we are. It places that thought in the back of your mind that, “If I’m hiding it, there must be a reason to be ashamed. There must be something wrong with me.”

And if enough of us realize that we don’t have to live with self doubt, we can begin to inspire others. Maybe hearts will be opened. Maybe minds will be opened as well. Perhaps those are lofty goals and it's simpler to say that maybe, just maybe...people will talk and it will lead to change.

And I don't know about anyone else, but I want to bring my child up in a world that can embrace that change. I never want my child to have to worry about being different. To fear judgement, or to judge others.

So I will stand proud...

My name is Telitha Aann Gildersleeve, and I am sister, a daughter, a wife, a mother, a friend to those who will accept it. I am a poet and a dreamer. I am a Christian, and a believer in freedom and rights for all peoples. I am creative, colorful, spontaneous, over emotional, loving, a touch neurotic, a little OCD, and plenty unbalanced. I just also happen to be a bisexual.

About

Welcome to my little corner of the crazy. I can't promise I will always have something intelligent to say. Or that my wit will always leave you laughing. But I can say this much...what you see is what you get. I am me...and I'm going to endeavor to share that uncensored.
So, pull up a seat. Enjoy yourself and if I perhaps entertain you feel free to...